Friday, October 6 | at Rider | Lawrenceville, N.J. | Ben Cohen Field | 4 p.m.  | LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO
Sunday, October 8 | at Fairfield | Fairfield, Conn. | University Field | 1 p.m. | LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO
 
OPENING STICK VS. RIDER
Friday's match between Saint Francis and Rider marks the 25th meeting in the all-time series dating back to the 2001 season. The two teams split the season series last year with the Red Flash defeating the Broncs 3-2 during the regular season before Rider downed the Loretto program 2-0 in the NEC Semifinals. Saint Francis is looking for its first win on the road in the series since a 3-2 overtime win in 2014.
 
THE WORD ON RIDER
Rider comes  into the match 4-6 overall and 1-0 in league play after defeating Lock Haven on Sunday. Carli Ciocco leads the team with four goals for eight points. Valeria Perales also has eight points thanks to three goals and two assists, while Willemijn Ephraim ranks third on the Broncs with three tallies and a helper for seven points. Carlee Fulton has 35 saves, a 1.83 goals against average and a .660 save percentage in 589:34 minutes work in the cage.

LAST TIME WE MET RIDER
Dolores Zavaleta scored the game-winner off an Eugenia Kenny assist in the 53rd minute to help Saint Francis down Rider 3-2 on September 30, 2022. Eva Valentini and Claudia Ortiz also hit the back of the cage for the Red Flash in the NEC opener. Amber Bryan made two saves in the first 30 minutes of work. The two teams met again last season in the NEC Semifinals with the Broncs earning a 2-0 decision.
   
OPENING STICK VS. FAIRFIELD
Sunday's match between Saint Francis and Fairfield marks the ninth meeting in the all-time series dating back to the 2004 season. It will be the sixth meeting in Fairfield and fourth time in the last five meetings the two teams will tangle in the Nutmeg State. 
 
THE WORD ON FAIRFIELD
Fairfield, who will host its crosstown rival Sacred Heart on Friday, comes into the weekend 7-2 overall and 1-0 in NEC play after defeating Columbia 3-1 on Sunday. Carmel Van Dijk leads the team with three goals and four assists for 10 points. Alex Senior is second on the team with four markers and a helper for nine points, while Erin McGinley (four goals) and Lucie Vincent (three goals and two assists) are tied for third with eight points on the Stags. Payton Rahn has 32 saves, a 1.26 goals against average and a .762 save percentage. 

LAST TIME WE MET FAIRFIELD
Fairfield defeated Saint Francis 3-1 on October 14, 2022. Eva Valentini notched the goal for the Red Flash off an assist from Dolores Zavaleta late in the match. 

NEXT TIME OUT
After the two games in New Jersey and Connecticut to complete its three-game road trip, the Red Flash will have a home sandwich with home games separated by a two-game road trip. Saint Francis will host LIU on October 13 before heading to New England to battle Merrimack (October 20) and Stonehill (October 22). The Loretto team then wraps up the regular season at home against Sacred Heart on October 27 for senior day. 

LAST TIME OUT
Saint Francis registered its second winning streak of the season after defeating Wagner 3-0 on Friday at home and Georgetown 3-2 on Sunday. Madison Waldspurger had two goals against Wagner and an assist against Georgetown. Marie Sattler dished out three assists with one against the Seahawks and two against the Hoyas, while Dolores Zavaleta registered a tally and a helper on Sunday. Eva Valentini added a score against Wagner while Julia Breneman and and Olivia Muffitt registered goals against Georgetown. Amber Bryan had six saves in the two games and added her second shutout out the season against the Seahawks.

NEC STARTS
Saint Francis improved to 1-0 in NEC play for the fourth time in program history, joining the 2007, 2011, 2012 and 2022 teams. It is the second time that the Red Flash has won back-to-back NEC inaugural contests of the year. With a win, the team would be 2-0 in NEC play for the first time since 2012 and will also join the 2007 with 2-0 starts.  A loss will give the Red Flash a 1-1 start for the eighth times (2006, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2021, 2022).

Two wins this weekend and the Frankies would be 3-0 for the second time in NEC play (2012). A 1-1 weekend, would give the team a 2-1 record for the fourth time (2007, 2011, 2022)

WHERE WE STAND WITH OUR RECORD
Saint Francis is over .500 after 11 games for the eighth time in program history. The 6-5 mark is the sixth-best start in program history, joining the 2013 and 2015 squads. In 2014, the team opened the year 10-1 and went 7-4 four times (2012, 2016, 2017, 2018).
 
With a win, the squad would be 7-5 for the fourth time in program history (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018) and would be the third-best start in team history, trailing the 10-2 start in 2014 and the 8-4 start in 2012. A loss, and the team would be 6-6 for the second time in team history (2013) and would be the seventh-best 12-game start in program history.
 
In a 13-game start, two wins and Saint Francis would be 8-5 for the second time in program history (2015) with the 11-2 start in 2014 and 9-4 start in 2012 the two besting the mark. A split weekend and the squad would be 7-6 for the fourth time (2016, 2017, 2018) and the fourth-best 13-game start in team history.

SEEING DOUBLE
Saint Francis has five players that has scored at least two goals in a game in their career. Eva Valentini leads the way with three games, while Claudia Ortiz and Madison Waldspurger each have two matches with at least two goals, while Olivia Muffitt and Consu de Castro each have one to their credit. In Saint Francis' history, 23 different players have registered a multi-goal performance for a total of 72 times in program history.
 
de Castro and Waldspurger each have one two-goal performance this season, while the team had four in 2022.
 
Waldspurger is also one of five players in program history to have multiple two-goal performances that includes a hat trick. The sophomore scored twice against Wagner on September 29 and had three tallies against Central Michigan on October 2, 2022.
 
Speaking of multiple statistics, Marie Sattler dished out two assists against Georgetown on October 1. It was the 37th time in program history a player has handed out more than one assist in a game. Sattler is the fifth different player on the current team to have at least two helpers in a game, joining Chloe Butz (2022), Ella Maillie (2021), Valentini (2021) and Dolores Zavaleta. Valentini is the only player on the current team to have at least two assists twice, while Zavaleta had a hat trick of helpers against LIU on October 9, 2022, which is the second-most in single-game program history.


NEC HONORS
Madison Waldspurger and Marie Sattler were recognized for their efforts to help Saint Francis field hockey go 2-0 with recognition from the Northeast Conference (NEC) for the week of September 28-October 1. Waldspurger nabs her first NEC Player of the Week recognition, while Sattler has been selected as the NEC Rookie of the Week for the second time this season. Waldspurger registered two goals and an assist for five points in a 2-0 week for the Red Flash, including scoring a pair of goals in a 3-0 win against the NEC defending champions. The sophomore scored the first two tallies against the Seahawks on Friday at 27:32 and 46:07 for her second career multi-goal performance of her career. She then assisted the go-ahead marker in a 3-2 win against Georgetown on Sunday. Waldspurger, who registered a goal in last year's encounter with Wagner, is fourth on the team with three goals and three assists for nine points this season. She ranks seventh in the league in points, ninth in goals and third in goals per game. Sattler dished out three assists on the weekend including a career-high two helpers against Georgetown on Sunday. The freshman dished out an assist on Waldspurger's second goal against Wagner. 

Eva Valentini was named an NEC Prime Performer for the week of September 18-24. Valentini scored the Red Flash's lone goal against Drexel in the 38th minute on September 24 to move into fifth place for career points in program history.

Mia DiGenova was named the NEC Defensive Player and Rookie of the Week for the week of September 11-17. DiGenova registered 11 saves in the week with a 1.00 goals aga­­­inst average in 60 minutes of work in the two games after playing the first half against Lehigh on Friday and the second half against Villanova on Sunday. After allowing a goal in the eighth minute against Lehigh, she did not allow a ball to hit the back of the cage in the final 52 minutes and 43 seconds that she played during the week. It is the second time this season and third time in team history the Red Flash won two of the three conference awards in the same week, while DiGenova is the first player in team history to win multiple awards in the same week. 

Sattler was named the NEC Co-Rookie of the Week for the week of September 4-10. It is her first conference weekly honor and the second time this season the Red Flash has earned an NEC Co-Rookie of the Week recognition. Dolores Zavaleta was named an NEC Prime Performer.Sattler broke a scoreless result when she knocked in a rebounded save off the stick of Waldspurger at 39:32 for a 1-0 lead against Lock Haven on Wednesday in a 2-1 victory. After the Bald Eagles tied the score at 50:10, the Loretto program was awarded a penalty corner. Sattler inserted the ball to Waldspurger, who found Zavaleta in front of the cage at 53:41 for the game-winner. 

Amber Bryan was named the NEC Defensive Player of the Week and Consu de Castro was selected as the NEC Rookie of the Week for the first week of the season. Bryan did not allow a goal in 105 minutes in the week with five saves, while de Castro scored two goals against Queens in a 6-0 victory on August 25, including the game-winner. Waldspurger registered the lone goal in a 1-0 win against Longwood on August 27. It is the second time in program history a player has been named NEC Defensive Player of the Week for the Red Flash after Chloe South was named the top defender on September 20, 2021, which was also the only time the Red Flash won multiple awards in the same week. de Castro marks the 11th time in program history it has registered a NEC Rookie of the Week honor. 
 
NFHCA WATCH LIST
Junior Eva Valentini was named to the National Field Hockey Coaches Association Watch List on August 31. This list is intended to showcase those field hockey student-athletes with the strongest potential for consideration to the current year's NFHCA All-American teams. To be nominated for the 2023 NFHCA Watchlist, student-athletes must have been previously recognized for their outstanding field hockey abilities within the past two years (NFHCA All-Region, NFHCA All-American, All-Conference, Nexus Championship selection, AAU Junior Olympic Games selection, NCAA All-Tournament Team, and/or U.S. National or International Team roster) and the student-athlete's head coach must be an active NFHCA member.  This list does not constitute a nomination or selection to the NFHCA All-Region or All-American teams. Student-athletes not listed on the NFHCA Watchlist may still be nominated for NFHCA All-Region and All-American recognition.

LEADERSHIP GROUP
Senior Julia Breneman, redshirt senior Amber Bryan, junior Haley Connor, redshirt senior Riley Kromer, senior Ella Maillie, junior Eva Valentini and junior Dolores Zavaleta have been named to the Saint Francis Field Hockey Leadership Group. Breneman, Maillie and Valentini have also been named game day captains.

MILESTONE ALERT
Junior Eva Valentini has moved into a tie for fifth place in program history for career goals after scoring against Bellarmine on August 31. The junior then jumped into fifth place for career points thanks to her goal at Drexel on September 24. She will be supplanted in fifth place for awhile, needing 11 tallies and 27 points to move up in each category. The junior registered the fifth-most points in a single season in 2022 with 30 points and the fourth-most goals with 12 markers.

Freshman Consu de Castro became the first freshman in program history to open the season with with two goals in a game. de Castro becomes the first Saint Francis player to score twice in a season opener since Taylor Nesmith found the back of the cage twice against Kent State in the 2019 season opener. Along with being the first freshman to have a multi-goal performance, it marks the sixth time a player has registered more than one tally in the opener and the fourth different player.
 
RETURNING ALL-NEC
Saint Francis returns 2022 All-NEC first-team performer Eva Valentini, second-team honoree Dolores Zavaleta and 2021 All-NEC second-team performer Claudia Ortiz in 2021. Valentini, who was an second-team recipient in 2022, paced the Red Flash with 12 goals and six assists for 30 points. Zavaleta paced the team with six assists along with two goals for 10 points. She registered an assist on all three goals against LIU in 2022 to become the third player in program history to turn the trick. Ortiz ranked second with six tallies and four assists for 16 points in 2021.

STICKING AROUND FOR ANOTHER YEAR
Seniors Amber Bryan, Riley Kromer, and Claudia Ortiz have all come back for their fifth season. Bryan and Kromer are in their fifth season in Loretto, while South is in her fourth after transferring from La Salle after one season and Ortiz is in her third year after two seasons at Kent State.

NEW TO THE 'LO
Freshmen Consu de Casto, T Ciaccia, Mia DiGenova, Grace Reed, Dolores Riegé and Marie Sattler and joined the team for the 2023 season. All five players made their collegiate debut against Queens on August 27 with de Castro and Sattler earning their first collegiate starting nod. de Castro notched a pair of goals, Sattler registered a goal and an assist and Riege had an assist against the Royals. DiGenova had a save in 15 minutes. Reed registered her first career goal against Villanova on September 17.
 
TOO MANY ANTHEMS TO PLAY
Along with 17 players from the United States, head coach Maria Bettiana Ceretta has four players from Argentina (Consu de Castro, Dolores Riegé, Dolores Zavaleta, Eva Valentini), two players from Canada (Francesca Primomo, Hannah Rohrer), one from Germany (Marie Sattler) and one from Spain (Claudia Ortiz) for the 2023 season.
 
ABOUT THE COACH
Head coach Maria Bettiana Ceretta is in her seventh season as the field hockey head coach at Saint Francis. She led the Red Flash back to the postseason for the sixth time in program history and the third time in NEC play last season. Ceretta is the second winningest head coach in program history. In 2022, she became an American citizen.